Method and system for facilitating chance-based payment for items in a game

• US 10,115,267 B1
• Filed: 01/09/2017
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronic Arts Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Electronic Arts Incorporated
• Inventors: Yu, Christopher, Tsao, Bryan, Kim, John, Chanthasiriphan, Kevin, Chyou, Wynne
• Primary Examiner(s): Skaarup, Jason
• Application Number:
  US15/402,188
• Time in Patent Office: 659 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/575 for trading virtual items
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/34 Betting or bookmaking, e.g. Internet betting
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3272 Games involving multiple players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3274 wherein the players cooperate, e.g. team-play
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3286 Type of games

Abstract

A method and system for facilitating chance-based payment for items in a game. In implementations, the disclosure relates to such systems which can be used in the payment for items in an affiliation based game. A user may be part of an affiliation and wish to contribute to their affiliation and show their loyalty in a non-direct manner. The contribution may be achieved by the user entering into a chance-based selection process such as a draw, where the user selected in the draw is the person that pays for a group virtual item used in the game. The item used in the game may benefit all members of the affiliation, simultaneously or in alternating fashion.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating chance-based payment for items in a game, the system comprising:

one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions to;

execute an instance of an online game, and to use the instance to generate game state information that is transmitted to client computing platforms over a network, the game state information facilitating presentation of views of the online game to users via the client computing platforms wherein execution of the instance of the online game includes performing operations in the instance in response to commands received over the network from the client computing platforms to enable interaction by the users with the online game and/or each;

effectuate presentation of offers to sell one or more virtual items to a group of users, wherein the one or more virtual items provide a benefit to one or more the users in the group of users in the online game, wherein the offers to sell the one or more virtual items include prices of the one or more virtual items, the offers including a first offer to sell one or more first virtual items, to the group of users for a first price, the group of users including a first user, a second user, and a third user;

obtain pledges from individual users in the group of users for payment of the prices for the one or more virtual items offered for sale; and

make chance-based selections of which users that have pledged payment of the prices for the one or more virtual items will make the pledged payments, and to collect such payments in exchange for distribution of the one or more virtual items to the group of users such that where the first user and the second user have pledged payment of the first price, and a chance-based selection of the first user has been made, payment of the first price is collected from the first user and the one or more first virtual items are distributed to one or more users in the group of users such that the first user, the second user, and/or the third user receive the benefit of the one or more first virtual items, in the online game.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first user, the second user, and the third user receive the benefits of one or more of the first virtual items simultaneously.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first user, the second user, and the third user receive the benefits of one or more of the first virtual items in alternating fashion.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the group of users is an affiliation.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein all members of the affiliation share virtual items purchased by members of the affiliation.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the payment is collected in the form of a virtual currency used only for this purpose.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the virtual currency may be obtained through participation in the online game.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the item is less expensive when paid for with the virtual currency than when purchased directly with another currency.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are configured by machine-readable instructions to make the chance-based selections once a predetermined number of pledges have been obtained.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are further configured by machine-readable instructions to deliver awards to the selected users.

11. A computer-implemented method for facilitating chance-based payment for items in a game, the method being implemented in a computer system that includes one or more processors executing computer program components, the method comprising:

executing an instance of an online game and using the instance to generate game state information that is transmitted to client computing platforms over a network, the game state information facilitating presentation of views of the online game to users via the client computing platforms wherein execution of the instance of the online game includes performing operations in the instance in response to commands received over the network from the client computing platforms to enable interaction by the users with the online game and/or each other;

effectuating presentation of offers to sell one or more virtual items to a group of users, wherein the one or more virtual items provide a benefit to one or more the users in the group of users in the online game, wherein the offers to sell the one or more virtual items include prices of the one or more virtual items, the offers including a first offer to sell one or more first virtual items to the group of users for a first price, the group of users including a first user, a second user, and a third user;

obtaining pledges from individual users in the group of users for payment of the prices for the one or more virtual items offered for sale; and

making chance-based selections of which users that have pledged payment of the prices for the virtual items will make the pledged payments, and collecting such payments in exchange for distribution of the virtual items to the one or more users such that where the first user and the second user have pledged payment of the first price, and a chance-based selection has been made of the first user, payment of the first price is collected from the first user and the one or more first virtual items are distributed to the one or more users in the group users such that the first user, the second user, and/or the third user receive the benefit of the one or more first virtual items in the online game.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first user, the second user, and the third user receive the benefits of one or more of the first virtual items simultaneously.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first user, the second user, and the third user receive the benefits of one or more of the first virtual items in alternating fashion.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the group of users is an affiliation.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein all members of the affiliation share the virtual items purchased by members of the affiliation.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the payment is collected in the form of a virtual currency used only for this purpose.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the currency may be obtained through participation in the online game.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the item is less expensive when paid for with the currency than when purchased directly with another currency.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the chance-based selections are made once a predetermined number of pledges have been obtained.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising delivering awards to the selected users.